Election Day humor

It’s the night before the big presidential election. And, fittingly, enough I am watching Saturday Night Live’s Presidential Bash. If you think the show picks on your favorite politician, just watch the clips dating back to the Nixon and Carter eras, and you’ll know they have been an equal opportunity offender through the years.

And, good for them. If we didn’t find the humor in this madness, where would we be?

We have been inundated with increasingly negative television ads. The battle between Saxby Chambliss and Jim Martin for U.S. Senate here in Georgia has reached fever pitch. I keep waiting for one of them to say, “Oh, yeah, and your grandma wears combat boots!”

Not to mention the phone calls. As someone who is on the “Do not call” list, I have a big problem with candidates and their friends calling my home at all hours. During dinner tonight, Hank Williams, Jr., left a message telling me to vote for McCain. I couldn’t help but listen to that one.

Although I’m not sure if my 18-year-old daughter will make it to the polls, my elementary school-aged son sure is excited. He told me that he persuaded his buddy to vote for our preferred candidate, telling him all the negative things his opponent would do, such as raising taxes. Apparently, those commercials work.

Fortunately, my son’s teacher has taken advantage of this historic moment. He comes home each day with a little known presidential fact that he has learned. Do you know which president got stuck in the White House bathtub? (Answer: our heaviest, William Howard Taft)

Do you know the story behind Teddy Roosevelt and the Teddy Bear? (Teddy refused to shoot a bear cub that his dogs cornered during a hunting trip. The story was published in a cartoon, and he was later asked to lend his name to a toy bear, hence the teddy bear.)

Did you know that the first female reporter to interview a president sat on his clothes while he skinny dipped in order to do so? (Anne Royall was the journalist and John Quincy Adams the president)

One day my son declared that if our preferred candidate’s name was James, he’d have a better chance of becoming president. It seems we have had five James’. Maybe he has a point.

Only time will tell how the election will turn out. Either way, let’s look for the good and find the humor where we can. If all else fails, our candidate can change his name to James and try again in four more years.